Florida Prosecutor Charged with Stealing Sealed Trump Report — Disguised as Cake Recipe
Carmen Lineberger faces federal charges for sending Jack Smith's sealed Trump classified documents report to her personal email, disguised as 'Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf'.
Federal prosecutors charged aFlorida prosecutor with stealing government property after she sent a sealed special counsel report on Trump's classified documents case to her personal email account, disguising it as a cake recipe.
Carmen Lineberger, who managed the Fort Pierce branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, faces charges including theft of government property and concealment of government records. She pleaded not guilty during a court appearance in West Palm Beach on Wednesday.
Report Disguised as 'Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf'
The indictment reveals Lineberger's attempt to hide her actions. In December 2024, while serving as a Justice Department prosecutor, she sent a copy of Jack Smith's report summarizing his investigation into Trump's retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago to her personal email.
At the time, a judicial order specifically barred Justice Department employees from sharing, transmitting or distributing copies of the report. Lineberger renamed the original file to "Bundt_Cake_Recipe.pdf" before saving it on her government computer and emailing it with the subject line "Bundt_Cake_Recipe,pdf."
Several months earlier, prosecutors allege, Lineberger created a document from internal Justice Department messages and a memo marked "for official use only." She sent that material to her personal email as an attached file titled "Chocolate_cake_recipe.pdf."
Smith's Report Remains Hidden
The special counsel report detailing Smith's findings has never been made public. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sided with Trump's lawyers, who argued that releasing the report would be unfairly prejudicial after Smith abandoned the case following Trump's 2024 election victory.
Lineberger worked in the same judicial district where Smith filed his case against Trump. That case accused the former president of illegally retaining dozens of classified records from his first term and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.
The indictment does not explain why Lineberger wanted to send the report to her personal email account, though she had professional access to it as a prosecutor involved in the district handling the case.
Her attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment on the charges, which carry potential prison time for theft of government property and concealment of official records.
The case exposes internal security breaches within the Justice Department as Smith's team worked to wind down federal cases against Trump after his election victory.
